1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to monomeric and polymeric materials, and to stabilized mixtures of monomeric and polymeric materials useful for making optical elements such as lenses.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical elements such as eyeglass lenses are typically made by casting, grinding and/or polishing lens blanks made from glass or plastics such as polycarbonate, Finalite™ (Sola), MR-8 polymer (Mitsui), and diethylene glycol bis(allylcarbonate)polymer (CR-39) (PPG Industries). However, lenses made using these materials and fabrication techniques are only capable of correcting relatively simple optical distortions. Other fabrication techniques and polymer compositions have been developed to produce lenses that correct more complicated optical distortions. However, the commercialization of such lenses has been complicated by the relatively small number of suitable polymer compositions currently available. Polymer compositions such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,236,970; 5,807,906; 6,391,983; and 6,450,642 are not entirely satisfactory. Hence, there is a need for polymer compositions suitable for the fabrication of optical elements, and particularly for optical elements capable of correcting complicated optical distortions.